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Date : Apr 05, 2024
Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey for Q4:2023-24

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of 40th round of its quarterly Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS) conducted during Q4:2023-24. This forward-looking survey1 captures qualitative assessment and expectations of Indian companies engaged in the services and infrastructure sectors on a set of business parameters relating to demand conditions, price situation and other business conditions. In the latest round of the survey, 707 companies provided their assessment for Q4:2023-24 and expectations for Q1:2024-25 as well as outlook on key parameters for the subsequent two quarters.

Highlights:

A. Services Sector

Assessment for Q4:2023-24

  • Services sector firms assessed further improvement in overall business situation, job landscape and their turnover during Q4:2023-24 (Chart 1 and Table A).

  • Enterprises gauged higher cost pressures stemming from input costs; pressures from salary outgo and cost of finance, however, moderated during the quarter.

  • Firms’ sentiments on their selling prices and profit margins improved in Q4:2023-24.

Expectations for Q1:2024-25

  • Respondents were more upbeat on overall business situation and their turnover, as well as both full-time and part-time employment conditions during April-June 2024 (Chart 1 and Table A).

  • Service sector enterprises remain highly positive on availability of finance and expect it to improve further in the ensuing quarter.

  • Higher cost pressures are expected in Q1:2024-25; respondents anticipated higher rise in selling prices and profit margins.

Expectations for Q2:2024-25 and Q3:2024-25

  • Demand for services is likely to grow sequentially till Q3:2024-25 with further improvement in employment outlook (Table C).

  • Services sector firms expect higher input cost pressures and more rise in selling prices.

Chart 1: Turnover of Services Companies - Net Response

B. Infrastructure Sector

Assessment for Q4:2023-24

  • Infrastructure firms assessed positive demand parameters during Q4:2023-24 with somewhat lower sanguinity vis-à-vis the previous quarter (Chart 2 and Table B).

  • Respondents reported positive sentiments on both full-time and part-time employment.

  • Infrastructure companies assessed easing of pressures from salary outgo and finance cost while pressures stemming from input costs increased.

  • Enterprises gauged lower growth in selling prices and profit margins.

Expectations for Q1:2024-25

  • Respondents were optimistic on overall business situation, turnover and employment conditions in Q1:2024-25 though the expectations were somewhat tempered when compared to the previous survey round (Table B).

  • Firms remain positive on easy availability of finance.

  • Pressures from cost of funds and inputs are likely to persist during Q1:2024-25.

  • Infrastructure firms expressed lower optimism for growth in selling prices and profit margins as compared to the previous quarter.

Expectations for Q2:2024-25 and Q3:2024-25

  • Respondents remain highly optimistic on demand and employment conditions till Q3:2024-25 (Table D).

  • A majority of firms anticipated further rise in input costs and selling prices till end-2024.

Chart 2: Turnover of Infrastructure Companies - Net Response

Summary of Net Responses2 on Survey Parameters

Table A: Services Sector
(per cent)
Parameters Assessment period Expectations period
Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 35.6 37.5 54.8 65.3
Turnover 32.3 37.6 53.4 64.6
Full-time Employees 21.4 24.8 28.8 46.3
Part-time Employees 13.2 22.7 23.1 48.3
Availability of Finance 24.9 27.8 37.4 55.3
Cost of Finance -32.3 -31.5 -34.4 -45.5
Salary & Wages -38.4 -30.2 -36.8 -46.7
Cost of Inputs -37.9 -42.8 -45.7 -56.7
Selling Price 15.1 22.4 30.7 50.8
Profit Margin 9.7 16.3 27.5 46.4
Inventories 22.2 25.4 28.3 47.8
Technical/Service Capacity 21.0 24.3 34.1 54.7
Physical Investment 20.1 22.6 32.2 53.2

Table B: Infrastructure Sector
(per cent)
Parameters Assessment period Expectations period
Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 34.2 32.5 68.1 66.1
Turnover 36.1 27.5 73.9 61.5
Full-time Employees 22.2 20.0 60.7 46.6
Part-time Employees 29.2 24.7 68.3 53.5
Availability of Finance 30.8 28.0 61.3 57.8
Cost of Finance -31.8 -31.5 -60.7 -59.4
Salary & Wages -40.7 -26.1 -59.0 -55.2
Cost of Inputs -47.9 -49.1 -55.7 -63.4
Selling Price 28.0 18.9 60.0 55.1
Profit Margin 25.0 8.4 48.7 47.9
Inventories 36.9 30.1 74.3 55.0
Technical/Service Capacity 35.5 29.9 75.0 64.9
Physical Investment 31.6 26.0 75.3 64.0

Expectations of Select Parameters for extended period – Net response (in per cent)

 
Table C: Services Sector
Parameter Round 39 Round 40
Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25 Q2:2024-25 Q3:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 54.8 65.3 72.3 72.4
Turnover 53.4 64.6 73.9 74.3
Full-time Employees 28.8 46.3 54.1 53.8
Part-time Employees 23.1 48.3 53.1 52.6
Cost of Inputs -45.7 -56.7 -60.5 -61.0
Selling Price 30.7 50.8 53.6 53.8

Table D: Infrastructure Sector
Parameter Round 39 Round 40
Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25 Q2:2024-25 Q3:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 68.1 66.1 67.5 67.5
Turnover 73.9 61.5 69.5 68.1
Full-time Employees 60.7 46.6 45.2 47.4
Part-time Employees 68.3 53.5 55.8 60.7
Cost of Inputs -55.7 -63.4 -54.8 -55.9
Selling Price 60.0 55.1 49.5 54.5

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data.

Services Sector

Table S1: Assessment and Expectation for Overall Business Situation
(Percentage responses)@
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Better No Change Worse Net response# Better No Change Worse Net response
Q4:22-23 59.8 30.0 10.3 49.5 55.0 40.0 5.0 50.1
Q1:23-24 55.0 32.0 13.0 42.0 64.2 27.4 8.4 55.8
Q2:23-24 48.4 37.7 14.0 34.4 62.3 31.3 6.4 56.0
Q3:23-24 47.6 40.4 12.0 35.6 51.0 41.2 7.8 43.1
Q4:23-24 48.9 39.8 11.4 37.5 59.4 36.0 4.6 54.8
Q1:24-25         68.5 28.4 3.1 65.3
‘Increase’ in Overall business situation is optimistic.
@: Due to rounding off percentage may not add up to 100.
#: Net Response (NR) is the difference of percentage of the respondents reporting optimism and that reporting pessimism. The range is -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/ optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/ pessimism.

Table S2: Assessment and Expectation for Turnover
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 57.4 34.0 8.5 48.9 51.5 42.5 6.0 45.5
Q1:23-24 59.4 30.2 10.4 49.0 60.0 33.1 6.9 53.1
Q2:23-24 43.8 41.3 14.9 28.9 59.3 36.3 4.4 54.9
Q3:23-24 48.2 35.9 15.9 32.3 40.3 49.9 9.8 30.5
Q4:23-24 51.6 34.3 14.0 37.6 59.8 33.8 6.4 53.4
Q1:24-25         70.5 23.6 5.9 64.6
‘Increase’ in Turnover is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S3: Assessment and Expectation for Full-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 45.1 48.0 7.0 38.1 47.1 48.0 4.8 42.3
Q1:23-24 40.1 47.8 12.1 27.9 47.8 45.9 6.3 41.6
Q2:23-24 34.3 48.7 17.0 17.3 44.7 52.6 2.7 42.0
Q3:23-24 29.9 61.6 8.5 21.4 26.4 63.7 9.9 16.5
Q4:23-24 33.9 57.1 9.0 24.8 32.4 64.0 3.6 28.8
Q1:24-25         48.4 49.5 2.1 46.3
‘Increase’ in Full-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S4: Assessment and Expectation for Part-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 36.2 58.5 5.3 30.9 41.8 53.1 5.1 36.7
Q1:23-24 30.9 59.1 9.9 21.0 35.3 60.6 4.2 31.1
Q2:23-24 24.4 57.5 18.1 6.2 36.7 57.9 5.3 31.4
Q3:23-24 21.5 70.3 8.2 13.2 31.0 52.3 16.7 14.4
Q4:23-24 30.2 62.4 7.5 22.7 28.8 65.4 5.8 23.1
Q1:24-25         50.8 46.7 2.5 48.3
‘Increase’ in Part-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S5: Assessment and Expectation for Availability of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Improve No Change Worsen Net response Improve No Change Worsen Net response
Q4:22-23 34.9 61.6 3.6 31.3 42.3 52.4 5.4 36.9
Q1:23-24 29.3 61.2 9.5 19.7 36.0 61.4 2.6 33.4
Q2:23-24 30.6 56.8 12.6 18.0 39.5 57.0 3.5 36.0
Q3:23-24 32.3 60.3 7.4 24.9 31.5 61.1 7.3 24.2
Q4:23-24 36.3 55.3 8.4 27.8 40.4 56.7 2.9 37.4
Q1:24-25         56.4 42.5 1.1 55.3
‘Improve’ in Availability of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S6: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 36.7 60.1 3.2 -33.5 41.6 53.2 5.2 -36.5
Q1:23-24 42.1 49.6 8.3 -33.7 35.4 62.0 2.6 -32.8
Q2:23-24 39.0 52.1 8.9 -30.1 38.1 57.6 4.3 -33.7
Q3:23-24 36.5 59.3 4.2 -32.3 32.8 61.0 6.2 -26.6
Q4:23-24 38.0 55.6 6.5 -31.5 38.1 58.2 3.7 -34.4
Q1:24-25         51.0 43.5 5.5 -45.5
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S7: Assessment and Expectation for Salary/Wages
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 47.6 48.4 3.9 -43.7 43.3 52.1 4.6 -38.7
Q1:23-24 48.8 45.6 5.6 -43.2 45.9 46.7 7.5 -38.4
Q2:23-24 44.5 50.3 5.3 -39.2 46.4 52.0 1.6 -44.8
Q3:23-24 42.4 53.5 4.0 -38.4 33.6 62.3 4.1 -29.5
Q4:23-24 34.8 60.7 4.5 -30.2 38.6 59.6 1.8 -36.8
Q1:24-25         46.7 53.3 0.0 -46.7
‘Decrease’ in Salary/Wages is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S8: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Inputs
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 41.9 53.4 4.7 -37.2 50.1 44.5 5.3 -44.8
Q1:23-24 45.2 45.4 9.5 -35.7 43.8 53.6 2.7 -41.1
Q2:23-24 39.1 49.9 11.0 -28.1 47.0 46.8 6.1 -40.9
Q3:23-24 44.6 48.6 6.8 -37.9 32.1 57.9 9.9 -22.2
Q4:23-24 46.7 49.3 4.0 -42.8 47.4 50.9 1.7 -45.7
Q1:24-25         57.1 42.5 0.4 -56.7
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Inputs is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S9: Assessment and Expectation for Selling Price
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 34.4 62.2 3.5 30.9 38.9 55.6 5.5 33.4
Q1:23-24 28.8 59.8 11.4 17.4 35.7 60.0 4.3 31.3
Q2:23-24 21.9 62.7 15.4 6.5 39.5 53.7 6.8 32.7
Q3:23-24 24.3 66.6 9.2 15.1 26.4 61.5 12.1 14.2
Q4:23-24 29.9 62.6 7.5 22.4 35.3 60.0 4.7 30.7
Q1:24-25         52.4  46.0 1.6 50.8
‘Increase’ in Selling Price is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S10: Assessment and Expectation for Profit Margin
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 43.6 46.7 9.7 33.9 44.8 49.7 5.4 39.4
Q1:23-24 26.3 52.3 21.4 4.9 48.4 42.3 9.3 39.1
Q2:23-24 26.3 51.8 22.0 4.3 50.3 40.6 9.1 41.2
Q3:23-24 27.1 55.5 17.4 9.7 27.3 59.2 13.5 13.8
Q4:23-24 29.6 57.0 13.3 16.3 36.1 55.2 8.6 27.5
Q1:24-25         50.6 45.1 4.2 46.4
‘Increase’ in Profit Margin is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S11: Assessment and Expectation for Inventories
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 38.1 58.1 3.8 34.2 48.8 46.0 5.2 43.5
Q1:23-24 30.4 58.8 10.8 19.6 38.6 57.7 3.7 34.8
Q2:23-24 30.2 56.2 13.6 16.5 40.3 54.3 5.4 34.8
Q3:23-24 29.6 62.9 7.5 22.2 34.5 53.9 11.6 22.9
Q4:23-24 32.2 60.9 6.9 25.4 34.2 60.0 5.8 28.3
Q1:24-25         50.9 45.9 3.2 47.8
‘Increase’ in Inventories is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S12: Assessment and Expectation for Technical/Service Capacity
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 36.4 60.9 2.7 33.7 41.5 53.9 4.6 37.0
Q1:23-24 30.0 65.1 4.9 25.1 36.4 61.1 2.5 34.0
Q2:23-24 28.1 69.2 2.7 25.3 51.2 47.5 1.3 49.8
Q3:23-24 22.6 75.8 1.6 21.0 41.9 56.3 1.9 40.0
Q4:23-24 29.1 66.2 4.8 24.3 34.1 65.9 0.0 34.1
Q1:24-25         54.7 45.3 0.0 54.7
‘Increase’ in Technical/Service Capacity is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S13: Assessment and Expectation for Physical Investment
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 32.2 65.5 2.3 30.0 41.4 53.9 4.7 36.7
Q1:23-24 26.9 66.8 6.3 20.7 33.0 64.3 2.7 30.3
Q2:23-24 30.7 66.1 3.1 27.6 43.4 54.8 1.8 41.5
Q3:23-24 21.7 76.6 1.6 20.1 23.3 75.8 0.9 22.3
Q4:23-24 28.0 66.7 5.3 22.6 32.2 67.8 0.0 32.2
Q1:24-25         53.8 45.7 0.5 53.2
‘Increase’ in Physical Investment is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Infrastructure Sector

Table I1: Assessment and Expectation for Overall Business Situation
(Percentage responses)@
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Better No Change Worse Net response# Better No Change Worse Net response
Q4:22-23 60.9 28.7 10.4 50.4 56.8 37.2 6.0 50.9
Q1:23-24 62.6 23.1 14.3 48.4 60.5 34.2 5.3 55.3
Q2:23-24 44.2 41.3 14.4 29.8 62.6 30.8 6.6 56.0
Q3:23-24 44.2 45.8 10.0 34.2 67.3 29.8 2.9 64.4
Q4:23-24 45.0 42.5 12.5 32.5 73.1 21.8 5.0 68.1
Q1:24-25         70.3 25.4 4.2 66.1
‘Increase’ in Overall business situation is optimistic.
@: Due to rounding off percentage may not add up to 100.
#: Net Response (NR) is the difference of percentage of the respondents reporting optimism and that reporting pessimism. The range is -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/ optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/ pessimism.

Table I2: Assessment and Expectation for Turnover
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 60.9 27.0 12.2 48.7 55.8 37.2 7.0 48.8
Q1:23-24 64.8 19.8 15.4 49.5 61.4 32.5 6.1 55.3
Q2:23-24 46.2 39.4 14.4 31.7 61.1 33.3 5.6 55.6
Q3:23-24 47.9 40.3 11.8 36.1 53.8 42.3 3.8 50.0
Q4:23-24 42.5 42.5 15.0 27.5 75.6 22.7 1.7 73.9
Q1:24-25         68.4 24.8 6.8 61.5
‘Increase’ in Turnover is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I3: Assessment and Expectation for Full-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 47.0 47.8 5.2 41.7 52.4 40.7 6.9 45.5
Q1:23-24 46.7 40.0 13.3 33.3 50.9 44.7 4.4 46.5
Q2:23-24 28.8 58.7 12.5 16.3 48.9 48.9 2.2 46.7
Q3:23-24 32.5 57.3 10.3 22.2 42.3 54.8 2.9 39.4
Q4:23-24 27.5 65.0 7.5 20.0 63.2 34.2 2.6 60.7
Q1:24-25         47.5 51.7 0.8 46.6
‘Increase’ in Full-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I4: Assessment and Expectation for Part-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 46.4 50.0 3.6 42.9 52.1 41.7 6.2 45.9
Q1:23-24 48.1 40.7 11.1 37.0 43.8 55.4 0.9 42.9
Q2:23-24 37.9 55.2 6.9 31.0 50.9 45.3 3.8 47.2
Q3:23-24 35.8 57.5 6.6 29.2 60.3 34.5 5.2 55.2
Q4:23-24 29.2 66.3 4.5 24.7 68.3 31.7 0.0 68.3
Q1:24-25         55.8 41.9 2.3 53.5
‘Increase’ in Part-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I5: Assessment and Expectation for Availability of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Improve No Change Worsen Net response Improve No Change Worsen Net response
Q4:22-23 45.1 49.6 5.3 39.8 52.2 41.9 5.8 46.4
Q1:23-24 28.9 54.4 16.7 12.2 46.8 50.5 2.7 44.1
Q2:23-24 36.5 52.9 10.6 26.0 51.1 43.3 5.6 45.6
Q3:23-24 36.7 57.5 5.8 30.8 46.6 49.5 3.9 42.7
Q4:23-24 34.7 58.5 6.8 28.0 63.0 35.3 1.7 61.3
Q1:24-25         58.6 40.5 0.9 57.8
‘Improve’ in Availability of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I6: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 43.4 49.6 7.1 -36.3 49.7 44.5 5.8 -43.8
Q1:23-24 50.6 41.2 8.2 -42.4 43.8 53.6 2.7 -41.1
Q2:23-24 51.0 42.7 6.3 -44.8 44.0 53.6 2.4 -41.7
Q3:23-24 38.2 55.5 6.4 -31.8 54.2 45.8 0.0 -54.2
Q4:23-24 35.2 61.1 3.7 -31.5 61.7 37.4 0.9 -60.7
Q1:24-25         60.4 38.7 0.9 -59.4
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I7: Assessment and Expectation for Salary/Wages
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 47.0 49.6 3.5 -43.5 50.5 43.6 5.8 -44.7
Q1:23-24 40.7 56.0 3.3 -37.4 46.5 50.9 2.6 -43.9
Q2:23-24 42.7 50.5 6.8 -35.9 47.8 52.2 0.0 -47.8
Q3:23-24 44.9 50.8 4.2 -40.7 41.2 56.9 2.0 -39.2
Q4:23-24 27.7 70.6 1.7 -26.1 59.8 39.3 0.9 -59.0
Q1:24-25         55.2 44.8 0.0 -55.2
‘Decrease’ in Salary/Wages is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I8: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Inputs
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 46.9 50.4 2.7 -44.2 55.3 37.8 6.9 -48.5
Q1:23-24 47.7 47.7 4.5 -43.2 49.6 48.7 1.8 -47.8
Q2:23-24 50.0 45.1 4.9 -45.1 51.1 44.3 4.5 -46.6
Q3:23-24 52.1 43.6 4.3 -47.9 52.0 41.0 7.0 -45.0
Q4:23-24 52.6 43.9 3.5 -49.1 59.1 37.4 3.5 -55.7
Q1:24-25         63.4 36.6 0.0 -63.4
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Inputs is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I9: Assessment and Expectation for Selling Price
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 46.8 48.6 4.5 42.3 50.3 43.1 6.6 43.8
Q1:23-24 29.3 63.4 7.3 22.0 43.5 53.7 2.8 40.7
Q2:23-24 33.7 53.3 13.0 20.7 43.4 54.2 2.4 41.0
Q3:23-24 37.0 54.0 9.0 28.0 42.4 53.3 4.3 38.0
Q4:23-24 28.9 61.1 10.0 18.9 62.0 36.0 2.0 60.0
Q1:24-25         60.7 33.7 5.6 55.1
‘Increase’ in Selling Price is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I10: Assessment and Expectation for Profit Margin
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 46.0 44.2 9.7 36.3 52.8 39.6 7.6 45.1
Q1:23-24 36.7 38.9 24.4 12.2 47.3 45.5 7.1 40.2
Q2:23-24 24.5 58.8 16.7 7.8 46.1 48.3 5.6 40.4
Q3:23-24 35.0 55.0 10.0 25.0 37.3 56.9 5.9 31.4
Q4:23-24 26.1 56.3 17.6 8.4 56.3 36.1 7.6 48.7
Q1:24-25         54.7 38.5 6.8 47.9
‘Increase’ in Profit Margin is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I11: Assessment and Expectation for Inventories
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 48.7 46.0 5.3 43.4 53.6 39.2 7.2 46.4
Q1:23-24 28.3 58.3 13.3 15.0 48.2 50.0 1.8 46.4
Q2:23-24 42.1 52.6 5.3 36.8 36.7 60.0 3.3 33.3
Q3:23-24 41.7 53.4 4.9 36.9 60.5 36.8 2.6 57.9
Q4:23-24 34.0 62.1 3.9 30.1 75.2 23.8 1.0 74.3
Q1:24-25         58.0 39.0 3.0 55.0
‘Increase’ in Inventories is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I12: Assessment and Expectation for Technical/Service Capacity
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 45.9 50.5 3.7 42.2 50.5 43.5 6.0 44.6
Q1:23-24 35.7 59.5 4.8 31.0 45.0 53.2 1.8 43.1
Q2:23-24 38.3 59.6 2.1 36.2 51.2 48.8 0.0 51.2
Q3:23-24 39.8 55.9 4.3 35.5 66.7 33.3 0.0 66.7
Q4:23-24 32.5 64.9 2.6 29.9 75.0 25.0 0.0 75.0
Q1:24-25         66.2 32.4 1.4 64.9
‘Increase’ in Technical/Service Capacity is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I13: Assessment and Expectation for Physical Investment
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q4:22-23 45.9 50.5 3.7 42.2 49.8 43.6 6.6 43.2
Q1:23-24 37.1 52.9 10.0 27.1 43.9 52.3 3.7 40.2
Q2:23-24 38.0 58.2 3.8 34.2 36.8 60.3 2.9 33.8
Q3:23-24 35.8 60.0 4.2 31.6 46.8 53.2 0.0 46.8
Q4:23-24 28.6 68.8 2.6 26.0 75.3 24.7 0.0 75.3
Q1:24-25         64.0 36.0 0.0 64.0
‘Increase’ in Physical Investment is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

1 The survey results reflect the respondents’ views, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on February 08, 2024.

2 Net Response (NR) is the difference between the percentage of respondents reporting optimism and those reporting pessimism. It ranges between -100 to 100. Positive value indicates expansion/optimism and negative value indicates contraction/pessimism. In other words, NR = (I – D); where, I is the percentage response of ‘Increase/optimism’, D is the percentage response of ‘Decrease/pessimism’ and E is the percentage response as ‘no change/ equal’ (i.e., I+D+E=100).  For example, increase in turnover is optimism whereas decrease in cost of inputs is optimism.


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